Georgios Tsakos

Association of the Metabolic Syndrome with Severe Periodontitis in a Large U.S. Population-Based Survey

CONTEXT Metabolic syndrome and periodontitis both have an increasing prevalence worldwide; however, limited information is available on their association. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to assess the association between periodontitis and the metabolic syndrome in a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of the noninstitutionalized civilians in the United States. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Data analysis from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on 13,994 men and women aged 17 yr or older who received periodontal examination were studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Association of diagnosis and extent of periodontitis (gingival bleeding, probing pocket depths) with the metabolic syndrome and its individual component conditions (central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, hypertension, and insulin resistance) were measured. Adjustment for age, sex, years of education, poverty to income ratio, ethnicity, general conditions, and smoking were considered. RESULTS The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 18% [95% confidence interval (CI) 16-19], 34% (95% CI 29-38), and 37% (95% CI 28-48) among individuals with no-mild, moderate, and severe periodontitis, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, participants aged older than 45 yr suffering from severe periodontitis were 2.31 times (95% CI 1.13-4.73) more likely to have the metabolic syndrome than unaffected individuals. Diagnosis of metabolic syndrome increased by 1.12 times (95% CI 1.07-1.18) per 10% increase in gingival bleeding and 1.13 times (95% CI 1.03-1.24) per 10% increase in the proportion of periodontal pockets. CONCLUSIONS Severe periodontitis is associated with metabolic syndrome in middle-aged individuals. Further studies are required to test whether improvements in oral health lead to reductions in cardiometabolic traits and the risk of metabolic syndrome or vice versa.

The prevalence and severity of oral impacts on daily performances in Thai primary school children.

BackgroundTraditional methods of measuring oral health mainly use clinical dental indices and have been complemented by oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures. Most OHRQoL studies have been on adults and elderly populations. There are no systematic OHRQoL studies of a population-based sample of children. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence, characteristics and severity of oral impacts in primary school children.MethodsCross-sectional study of all 1126 children aged 11–12 years in a municipal area of Suphanburi province, Thailand. An OHRQoL measure, Child-Oral Impacts on Daily Performances index (Child-OIDP) was used to assess oral impacts. Children were also clinically examined and completed a self-administered questionnaire about demographic information and oral behaviours.Results89.8% of children had one or more oral impacts. The median impact score was 7.6 and mean score was 8.8. Nearly half (47.0%) of the children with impacts had impacts at very little or little levels of intensity. Most (84.8%) of those with impacts had 1–4 daily performances affected (out of 8 performances). Eating was the most common performance affected (72.9%). The severity of impacts was high for eating and smiling and low for study and social contact performances. The main clinical causes of impacts were sensitive tooth (27.9%), oral ulcers (25.8%), toothache (25.1%) and an exfoliating primary tooth (23.4%).ConclusionsThe study reveals that oral health impacts on quality of life in Thai primary school children. Oral impacts were prevalent, but not severe. The impacts mainly related to difficulty eating and smiling. Toothache, oral ulcers and natural processes contributed largely to the incidence of oral impacts.

Validation of an English version of the Child-OIDP index, an oral health-related quality of life measure for children

BackgroundTo evaluate the psychometric properties of the Child-OIDP for use among children in the UK and report on the prevalence of oral impacts in a sample of schoolchildren in Westminster.MethodsChildren aged 10–11 years in the final year of primary school (year 6) were selected from seven schools where annual screenings are carried out. A total of 228 children participated (99% response rate). A clinical examination was conducted followed by a questionnaire designed to measure oral health-related quality of life in children, namely the Child-OIDP. The psychometric properties of the Child-OIDP were evaluated in terms of face, content and concurrent validity in addition to internal and test-retest reliability.ResultsThe Child-OIDP revealed excellent validity and good reliability. Weighted Kappa was 0.82. Cronbachs alpha coefficient was 0.58. The index showed significant associations with perceived oral treatment needs and perceived satisfaction with mouth and oral health status (p < 0.001).ConclusionThis study has demonstrated that the Child-OIDP is a valid and reliable index to be used among 10–11 year old schoolchildren in the UK.

The role of health-related behaviors in the socioeconomic disparities in oral health

This study aimed to examine the socioeconomic disparities in health-related behaviors and to assess if behaviors eliminate socioeconomic disparities in oral health in a nationally representative sample of adult Americans. Data are from the US Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). Behaviors were indicated by smoking, dental visits, frequency of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and extent of calculus, used as a marker for oral hygiene. Oral health outcomes were gingival bleeding, loss of periodontal attachment, tooth loss and perceived oral health. Education and income indicated socioeconomic position. Sex, age, ethnicity, dental insurance and diabetes were adjusted for in the regression analysis. Regression analysis was used to assess socioeconomic disparities in behaviors. Regression models adjusting and not adjusting for behaviors were compared to assess the change in socioeconomic disparities in oral health. The results showed clear socioeconomic disparities in all behaviors. After adjusting for behaviors, the association between oral health and socioeconomic indicators attenuated but did not disappear. These findings imply that improvement in health-related behaviors may lessen, but not eliminate socioeconomic disparities in oral health, and suggest the presence of more complex determinants of these disparities which should be addressed by oral health preventive policies.

Interpreting oral health-related quality of life data

The most common way of presenting data from studies using quality of life or patient-based outcome (PBO) measures is in terms of mean scores along with testing the statistical significance of differences in means. We argue that this is insufficient in and of itself and call for a more comprehensive and thoughtful approach to the reporting and interpretation of data. PBO scores (and their means for that matter) are intrinsically meaningless, and differences in means between groups mask important and potentially different patterns in response within groups. More importantly, they are difficult to interpret because of the absence of a meaningful benchmark. The minimally important difference (MID) provides that benchmark to assist interpretability. This commentary discusses different approaches (distribution-based and anchor-based) and specific methods for assessing the MID in both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, and suggests minimum standards for reporting and interpreting PBO measures in an oral health context.

Oral health and cognitive function in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

Objectives: To investigate the association between oral health and cognitive function in early-, mid-, and late-adult life. Methods: A secondary analysis was carried out of a large, well-characterized community sample (NHANES III). Analyzed variables included three measures of oral health (gingival bleeding, loss of periodontal attachment, loss of teeth) and three measures of cognitive function: the Symbol Digit Substitution Test (SDST), the Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT) (both in 5138 participants aged 20–59 years), and a Story Recall test (in 1555 participants aged ≥70 years). Other covariates in linear regression models included age, gender, ethnicity, education and poverty, and cardiovascular risk factors. Results: Worse scores on all three measures of oral health status were significantly associated with poorer performance on all three measures of cognitive function after adjustment for age. Education was an important confounding factor. However, after full adjustment for all other covariates, gingival bleeding (%) and loss of periodontal attachment (%) remained associated with relative impairment on SDST score (B coefficients both = 0.003), and gingival bleeding was associated with relative impairment on SDLT (B = 0.017). No effect modification by age was observed. Conclusions: Poor oral health is associated with worse cognitive function throughout adult life. This may, in part, be accounted for by early life education and social status. However, the possibility of direct causal pathways requires further investigation. NHANES III = Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; SDST = Symbol Digit Substitution Test; SDLT = Serial Digit Learning Test.

Psychometric properties and the prevalence, intensity and causes of oral impacts on daily performance (OIDP) in a population of older Tanzanians

BackgroundThe objective was to study whether a Kiswahili version of the OIDP (Oral Impacts on Daily Performance) inventory was valid and reliable for use in a population of older adults in urban and rural areas of Tanzania; and to assess the area specific prevalence, intensity and perceived causes of OIDP.MethodA cross-sectional survey was conducted in Pwani region and in Dar es Salaam in 2004/2005. A two-stage stratified cluster sample design was utilized. Information became available for 511 urban and 520 rural subjects (mean age 62.9 years) who were interviewed and participated in a full mouth clinical examination in their own homes.ResultsThe Kiswahili version of the weighted OIDP inventory preserved the overall concept of the original English version. Cronbachs alpha was 0.83 and 0.90 in urban and rural areas, respectively, and the OIDP inventory varied systematically in the expected direction with self-reported oral health measures. The respective prevalence of oral impacts was 51.2% and 62.1% in urban and rural areas. Problems with eating was the performance reported most frequently (42.5% in urban, 55.1% in rural) followed by cleaning teeth (18.2% in urban, 30.6% in rural). More than half of the urban and rural residents with impacts had very little, little and moderate impact intensity. The most frequently reported causes of impacts were toothache and loose teeth.ConclusionThe Kiswahili OIDP inventory had acceptable psychometric properties among non-institutionalized adults 50 years and above in Tanzania. The impacts affecting their performances were relatively common but not very severe.

Social Gradients in Oral Health in Older Adults: Findings From the English Longitudinal Survey of Aging

OBJECTIVES We examined prospective associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) markers and oral health outcomes in a national sample of older adults in England. METHODS Data were from the English Longitudinal Survey of Aging, a national cohort study of community-dwelling people aged 50 years and older. SEP markers (education, occupation, household income, household wealth, subjective social status, and childhood SEP) and sociodemographic confounders (age, gender, and marital status) were from wave 1. We collected 3 self-reported oral health outcomes at wave 3: having natural teeth (dentate vs edentate), self-rated oral health, and oral impacts on daily life. Using multivariate logistic regression models, we estimated associations between each SEP indicator and each oral health outcome, adjusted for confounders. RESULTS Irrespective of SEP marker, there were inverse graded associations between SEP and edentulousness, with proportionately more edentate participants at each lower SEP level. Lower SEP was also associated with worse self-rated oral health and oral impacts among dentate, but not among edentate, participants. CONCLUSIONS There are consistent and clear social gradients in the oral health of older adults in England, with disparities evident throughout the SEP hierarchy.

Tooth Loss and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk – Results from the Scottish Health Survey

Background Tooth loss is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk. This association may however be due to residual confounding. We aimed to assess whether tooth loss is associated with specific CVD mortality endpoints in a national population sample adjusting for potential confounders. Methods and Results We used a prospective cohort design and data from the Scottish Health Survey. We combined data from surveys in 1995, 1998, 2003 and linked this to mortality records. Dental status was classified through self-reports as natural teeth only, natural teeth and dentures, and no natural teeth (edentate). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate risk of CVD mortality by dental status adjusting for potential confounders. The sample consisted of 12871 participants. They were followed for 8.0 (SD: 3.3) years. During 103173 person-years, there were 1480 cases of all-cause mortality, 498 of CVD, and 515 of cancer. After adjusting for demographic, socio-economic, behavioural and health status, edentate subjects had significantly higher risk of all-cause (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.12,1.50) and CVD mortality (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.16,1.92) compared to subjects with natural teeth only. Dental status was not significantly associated with cancer mortality in fully adjusted analysis. Further analysis for CVD mortality showed that in the fully adjusted model, edentate subjects had 2.97 (95% CI, 1.46, 6.05) times higher risk for stroke-related mortality. Conclusions In a national population sample of Scottish adults, being edentate was an independent predictor of total CVD mortality, although this was mainly driven by fatal stroke events.

Child-OIDP index in Brazil: Cross-cultural adaptation and validation

BackgroundOral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures are being increasingly used to introduce dimensions excluded by normative measures. Consequently, there is a need for an index which evaluates childrens OHRQoL validated for Brazilian population, useful for oral health needs assessments and for the evaluation of oral health programs, services and technologies. The aim of this study was to do a cross-cultural adaptation of the Child Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (Child-OIDP) index, and assess its reliability and validity for application among Brazilian children between the ages of eleven and fourteen.MethodsFor cross-cultural adaptation, a translation/back-translation method integrated with expert panel reviews was applied. A total of 342 students from four public schools took part of the study.ResultsOverall, 80.7% of the sample reported at least one oral impact in the last three months. Cronbachs alpha was 0.63, the weighted kappa 0.76, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.79. The index had a significant association with self-reported health measurements (self-rated oral health, satisfaction with oral health, perceived dental treatment needs, self-rated general health; all p < 0.01).ConclusionIt was concluded that the Child-OIDP index is a measure of oral health-related quality of life that can be applied to Brazilian children.